Glitter - Abbi Glines Page 0,69

she hadn’t explained it so very clearly. Perhaps she didn’t want to see it laid bare before another. The simple fact that she had turned out so utterly lovely without her mother giving her the nurturing she must have longed for gave me hope for Emma. However, there was another part of me that ached for Miriam. The little girl who needed her mother’s love and attention yet received none of it. How heartbreaking it seemed.

“Listen to me carrying on so. Port makes me melancholy. Always has. It’s time I retire for the evening and leave you to some blessed silence,” Wellington said with a slight slur in his voice. He swayed slightly as he stood.

“Wellington,” I said standing up. “My intentions with your niece are noble. I was drawn to her for all the qualities you mentioned tonight. I do see the rare gem she is. Rest assured, I would not have brought you all here if I wasn’t serious about getting to know Miriam and what is most important to her.”

Wellington nodded his head and gave me a smile. “I wouldn’t have allowed us to come if I didn’t know that, Ashington. Rest assured,” he replied, then with a nod he headed for the door. I thought of asking if he required help but he appeared to be walking straight enough. I did not want to insult him.

Once he was headed up the stairs, I sat back down leaving my door open. It was time I retire as well, but my thoughts would only keep me awake. Sleep wasn’t something that had ever come easy to me. Oft times I found myself waking up on the sofa in this very room. Tonight, my head was even more crowded than most.

Wellington’s description of Miriam’s life had stirred anger inside me for a man that was now cold in the ground. The dislike for my own father didn’t equal that of what I felt for Miriam’s father. She had been just a girl. Emma’s face came to me and I felt my stomach tighten at the thought of her having been left at the doorsteps of someone other than me. Her life could have been similar and the idea made me ill. Miriam deserved to be loved and to be happy. She’d had enough of the other.

I did feel as if I could possibly love Miriam one day, but would I love her the way she deserved? I’d truly never loved anyone until Emma. Once I had loved my brother, but we had been young. With years, he had changed and those feelings had changed as well. Loving Emma was easy. She was a child in need of a family.

Loving a woman, that was another thing. I had seen the ugliness in marriage and the bitterness that changed a female. Although Miriam was nothing like my stepmother, once the former countess had been someone my father had loved. Marriage changed them both and so very quickly.

I stared at my empty glass and considered one more drink before heading up to my chambers. Perhaps a good liquor would aid in my sleep. That thought was lost when movement near my doorway caught the corner of my vision. Turning my head, my gaze landed on Miriam. I was sure I had not had enough port to conjure the image before me. Yet, the idea that she was real also seemed impossible. For never had I laid eyes on anything so utterly enchanting.

Long, thick, red hair curled at its ends as it cascaded freely over her shoulders. The simple white nightgown was covered by a thin shawl, but did little to hinder my imagination as I took in the sight before me.

“I’m sorry, Lord Ashington. I fear I could not wind down enough after such a full day to fall asleep. I thought I would search for the kitchen in hopes of some warm milk,” Miriam explained, her cheeks stained pink, making her even more stunning.

I stood slowly for she appeared on the verge of fleeing. “If you are in search of the kitchen, I fear you are lost,” I teased.

She blushed even brighter. “Yes, it does appear that way.”

“Come, I will lead the way. I too could use an aid in finding sleep,” I told her as I reached her side. She stepped back so that I could exit the room without our bodies touching.

“I believe your port may help with that more so than warm milk,” she said with a touch